Kerala’s Farmers Fresh Zone (FarmersFZ) has been selected for the accelerator programme by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, figuring on a list of 12 agri-food start-ups around the world for the UN body to develop business.

The Kochi-based multichannel marketplace platform, which functions under the Kerala Startup Mission, is one among India’s two start-ups to qualify for the accelerator programme that ultimately aims to attain the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Pradeep PS, CEO of the 2016-founded AgriTech D2C, will attend the pertinent UN function at Rome next month.

Also read: Dhanuka Group plans to invest in more agri start-ups

Sustainable business model

The start-up won the FAO recognition for its Sustainable Way of Doing Business model, which is low on carbon emission and does not waste food by implementing the principle of Farm to Fork as Saas, promoting regional production and consumption.

According to Pradeep, the UN programme will enable FarmersFZ to present its model before countries across continents. “The model would require alterations based on the nature of the markets in each economy. For that we need funds, which will come through the Accelerator,” he noted.

The UN had earlier considered FarmersFZ for the world body’s SEED Low Carbon Awards.

Also read: Kerala allows govt bodies to buy more from startups

Bridging gap

FarmersFZ, which bridges the gap between rural farmers and urban consumers by providing healthy, premium-quality and pesticide-free vegetables from fields to the table within 24 hours of harvest, connects more than three lakh consumers and 2,000-plus farmers in Kerala.

KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the State.

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